#girlcode

It’s a short story, it’s not real.

I had a perfect best friend but I never was one, I’ll tell you how.

It was typical: a pair of polar opposites. But the fun fact is that we didn’t know what a typical best friend is at 11, we had our own definition and we never knew.

 I was new in the city I hated (it’s been 5 years, I still hate it). 7th grade, worst year. I met a junior in the same building and started hanging out, she was best friends with a girl my age and they played lawn tennis together. We never clicked. We attended common birthday parties together and talked a few sentences here and there, she seemed too innocent for a frivolous child like me. 2 months after moving in, my mother started taking maths classes for students till 8th grade, both of them joined (same society you see). Us three used to study together but it got difficult for my mom so she split us into two batches- 6th grade and 7th grade. I was studying with the innocent one and then, we clicked. We started walking together after class, she was my opposite. I used to wear shorts- she was always in a jumpsuit, I was dark- she was fair, I was tall- she was short and many other things.

 She was a good student, but I wasn’t. In her family, all is fine if you get good marks, in my family all is fine if you are happy. Both of us struggled. She was on Facebook so everyday she would show me the memes she found. This went on for two years and then the tables turned, I got Instagram and she didn’t have Facebook anymore. My best friend was not in the same school with me. So I lied to everyone, I said school was fun, no one found out the truth. In 7th grade itself we became the perfect set of best friends. I got closer to her family, her front door was always open. Every day was like this- wave her bye from my bus on my way to school, wave her hi from my bus on my way home, call her at 3 pm, have class together, walk downstairs or chill at home. Very comfortable but then 9th grade started.

Soon we grew, I started going to her house more often- her mother wasn’t very fond of me but of my height, she came around tho- I was her only friend in the society but it wasn’t like that for me. I knew many people who walked downstairs, my best friend noticed how I greeted every third person we crossed. We were used to going to the mall together, ordering take out, I used to tidy up her room in high school, she stopped coming home for tuition was over.

I never told her that I had a serious bunking issue in 9th and 10th grade, I was MIA for weeks. She came from an affluent and loving family, she was the younger sister and I was the older one but I never let her feel the difference. There was a lot of problem in my family- dad had work load, I wasn’t doing well in school and my parents were always fighting. I am an exceptionally good liar, I know what others want to hear and I am very convincing. I used to cry at home but no one knew, not even my little sister.

I am very good at keeping myself collected, I never pushed or screamed at my friends and then it happened. I went to my mom one day and told her that I wanted a divorce regardless of her feelings, I got many slaps. My father had stopped talking to me and whenever he got to know that I wasn’t doing well at school, that night I would lose my appetite. I saw my sister suffering and I couldn’t handle it so I ran away. I used to sneak out at night, I never told anyone, not even my best friend.

I had so many memories with her, same jackets, shoes, skirts, accessories but she was on the greener side but I denied thinking about it, her mom used to introduce me as her daughter. I never fought with my best friend instead I agreed with her, I hid things. Soon enough, I was at her house every day but she never knew why. She treated me like a total best friend- saying whatever she wanted to, throw continuous insults, fed me properly- but there I was, I just listened to her, I never objected her opinions or thoughts and that’s probably why she is a brat. But I was proud of her, I didn’t deserve to have her but I did, so I showed off. She was truly a best friend, all of my friends knew her but none of her’s knew me, because I was not her best friend.

On her 16th birthday I acknowledged it, she’s rich. It hit me hard, I knew where this would end up a long time ago. At the party, I saw a side to her, how her friends treated her and how she didn’t have time to even look at me but I am a liar so I kept it to myself. The most difficult was the gift, I knew what her classmates would get her because she told me everything about them. I knew that at least two wold give her make up then there would be perfumes, nail polishes and stuff toys. I knew it already, that’s why I got her a very glittery bag. I knew her reaction the moment she felt the packaging, she hadn’t even opened it yet. Who was I kidding? I wanted to leave, I was embarrassed. My gift was at one corner and I knew she would never use it, in fact I knew she would have had buried it in her closet instead of throwing or giving it away because she would have had been embarrassed if I ever asked her about it.

The funniest thing is that even though our tutor spent 2 hours daily with us, she never found out that we were friends. I couldn’t believe it when she asked me who my best friend was while I was sitting right beside her. She was the only one who didn’t know, and she thought that it was impossible. Yet, I didn’t blame her. My dad got a transfer, we were moving back to where we came from. She didn’t even sound disappointed, let alone any tear. We don’t talk anymore, I knew we would end up that way. I tried for a few months but I didn’t have a single picture of her to put as my background. My mom talks to her mom more often than we do, both ladies talk once a month, I haven’t heard her voice in 4 or 5 months. I wish she knew. I wish she won't call.

- - - - - 

This is a fictional story. 

Title: Yours Truly, Fake Best Friend Forever